Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange
Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange was completed and opened along with the Woodlands extension of the North South line in 1996. It was the first underground and third-biggest bus interchange in Singapore. It accommodates articulated buses and double decker buses. Double deckers made their debut appearance on 19 February 1996 as an off-service SBS bus, including the Leyland Olympian 2-Axle and Mercedes-Benz O305 double-deckers.
Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange | |
|---|---|
| Public bus interchange | |
| Location | 1 Woodlands Square (738099)[1] Singapore |
| Coordinates | 1°26′12″N 103°47′10″E |
| Owned by | Land Transport Authority |
| Operated by | SMRT Buses Ltd (SMRT Corporation) |
| Bus routes | 27 (SMRT Buses Ltd) 2 (SBS Transit Ltd) |
| Bus stands | 10 (boarding) 5 (alighting) |
| Bus operators | SMRT Buses Ltd SBS Transit Ltd (Services 161 and 168) Tower Transit from Sept 2021 (Services 169, 856, 858, 963, 963e, 963R, 965, 966, 969) |
| Connections | NS9 TE2 Woodlands |
| Construction | |
| Structure type | At-grade |
| Disabled access | Accessible alighting/boarding points Accessible public toilets Graduated kerb edges Tactile guidance system |
| History | |
| Opened | 4 February 1996 (Old) 12 March 2016 (Temporary) |
| Closed | 12 March 2016 (Old) |
| Key dates | |
| 4 February 1996 | Commenced operations |
| 12 March 2016 | Operations shifted to temporary site |
| by Q1 2021 | Resumed operations |
The old Woodlands Bus Interchange at Woodlands Centre Road was converted into a terminus for commuters departing Singapore, as well as for Woodlands intra-town services serving the old town centre. Later, it was deemed obsolete and ceased operations.
Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange took over operations from Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange on 12 March 2016, for it to be converted to an air-conditioned bus interchange, as part of the planned Woodlands Integrated Transport Hub (ITH). It is the busiest bus interchange in Singapore, with 29 bus routes operating from it.
Unique Orientation
Woodlands Regional Interchange has a unique orientation as it has boarding and alighting berths on both sides of the interchange, depending on which direction bus services exits the interchange. Bus services between Berths 1 to 8 will exit east towards Woodlands Avenue 7 whereas bus services between Berths 9 to 16 will exit west towards Woodlands Avenue 3. Although SBS Transit Services 161 and 168 exit east towards Woodlands Avenue 7, they are located at Berths 15 and 16 due to space constraints.
Redevelopment
Contract PT247 - Upgrading of Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange was awarded to CCECC Singapore Pte Ltd to carry out alteration works to upgrade the existing Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange to an air-conditioned one and constructing a link to the new Thomson–East Coast line (TEL).
A temporary bus interchange is constructed next to Woodlands MRT station and operations of all of the bus services currently serving Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange were shifted to the Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange (TBI) on 12 March 2016. The upgraded Woodlands Regional Bus Interchange is estimated to be reopened by Q1 2021.
Bus Contracting Model
Under the bus contracting model, there are 4 bus route packages operating from Woodlands Regional Interchange.
Sembawang - Yishun (9): Services 169, 856, 858, 963, 963e, 963R, 965, 966 and 969
Sengkang - Hougang (1): Service 161
Bedok (1): Service 168
Woodlands (18): Services 178, 187, 900/900A, 901/901M, 902, 903/903M, 904, 911, 912/912M, 913/913M, 925/925M, 926, 950, 960, 960e, 961/961M, 962 and 964
References
- "Bus Interchanges – SMRT". Retrieved January 18, 2021.